Use of a PACS-Based Tool for Improving Communications With Referring Physicians

Collaboration Between Physicians from Different Medical Specialties in Hospital Settings: A Systematic Review

Health care today is characterized by an increasing number of patients with comorbidities for whom interphysician collaboration seems very important. We reviewed the literature to understand what factors affect interphysician collaboration, determine how interphysician collaboration is measured, and determine its effects. We systematically searched six major databases. Based on 63 articles, we identified five categories that influence interphysician collaboration: personal factors, professional factors, preconditions and tools, organizational elements, and contextual characteristics. We identified a diverse set of mostly unvalidated tools for measuring interphysician collaboration that focus on information being transferred and understood, frequency of interaction and tone of the relationship, and value judgements about quality or satisfaction. We found that interphysician collaboration increased clinical outcomes as well as patient and staff satisfaction, while error rates and length of stay were reduced. The results should, however, be interpreted with caution, as most of the studies provide a low level of evidence.

Limitations in and Solutions for Improving the Functionality of Picture Archiving and Communication System: an Exploratory Study of PACS Professionals' Perspectives

Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) technology is evolving leading to improvements in the PACS functionality. However, the needs and expectations of PACS users are increasing to cope with the rising demands for improving the workflow and enhancing efficiency in healthcare. The aim was to study the limitations in the current generation of PACS and solutions for improving PACS functionality. This was a longitudinal online observational study of the perspectives of PACS professionals accessed through four online discussion groups on PACS using the LinkedIn network. In this exploratory study, the methodology involved a thematic analysis of qualitative data comprising 250 online posts/comments made by 124 unique PACS professionals collected between January 2014 and December 2015. Participants were mostly male (n = 119, 96%) from the North America (n = 88, 71%). Key themes on limitations in the current generation of PACS were image transmission problems, network and hardware issues, difficulties in changing specific settings, issues in hardcoded Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine attributes, and problems in implementing open source PACS. Main themes on solutions for improving PACS functionality were the integration of multisite PACS, multimedia for PACS, web-based PACS, medical image viewer, open source PACS, PACS on mobile phones, vendor neutral archives for PACS, speech recognition and integration in PACS, PACS backup and recovery, and connecting PACS with other hospital systems. Despite ongoing technological developments, the current generation of PACS has limitations that affect PACS functionality leading to unmet needs and requirements of PACS users, which could impact workflow and efficiency in healthcare.